Constipated chick, advice please!

[TalullaCat]

I have a week and a half old olive egger chick ( I believe she is a cross between and easter egger and a black maran by her looks) who spends most of her time sitting on the floor of the brooder. when she does walk she is a bit slow and has a slightly wobbly gait. on closer inspection she seems to be a bit bloated in her stomach near the vent area, not quite visually noticeable but it feels squishy if you poke her stomach. I am worried that she may have eaten some of the wood shavings off the floor and isn't able to digest them. I just gave the chicks some grit (they have only eaten the same chick starter their whole lives) hoping this will solve the problem. her vent is not blocked and she has never had problems with pasting up. has anyone experienced this with their chicks before? if so was it a serious problem/how did you treat the chick?. thanks is advance.

 

[ChickNanny13]

I've had chicks with "squishy" tummy, there are several threads about it but can't seem to locate them now. Since BYC changed their site, having problems navigating the site
Yours seems to be "worst" as it's "slower & wobbly gait", noticed mine when handling them. I didn't do anything & mine were on pine shavings in a brooder.
I do add ACV (Bragg, with the mother) to all my chickens water (1T to a gal), changing every day and have been fermenting my feed for a year; love the benefits & no feed waste.
You're on the right track offering grit, leave it out in a side dish for them to eat as need. Is it eating/drinking/pooping I can't recall exactly but I'm sure others will be peeping in with help.

 

[TalullaCat]

Glad to hear that your chicks with this problem have survived, mine is eating and drinking but I haven't seen her poop today because I haven't been watching them for long periods of time, just a quick water change and to check on them in general. I change their water at least daily and add some vitamins to their water that I got from the farm where I purchased these chicks that are supposed to aid digestion like apple cider vinegar does, plus some other benefits. I guess I'll just have to keep an eye on her and hope she gets better.

 

[TalullaCat]

I've had chicks with "squishy" tummy, there are several threads about it but can't seem to locate them now. Since BYC changed their site, having problems navigating the site
Yours seems to be "worst" as it's "slower & wobbly gait", noticed mine when handling them. I didn't do anything & mine were on pine shavings in a brooder.
I do add ACV (Bragg, with the mother) to all my chickens water (1T to a gal), changing every day and have been fermenting my feed for a year; love the benefits & no feed waste.
You're on the right track offering grit, leave it out in a side dish for them to eat as need. Is it eating/drinking/pooping I can't recall exactly but I'm sure others will be peeping in with help.

If you can remember, how long did your chick's squishy tummy last? Did it worsen or get better after you noticed the problem? Were yours eating/drinking/pooping?

 

[TalullaCat]

Update: I believe the chick is very constipated so I have given her some olive oil (someone suggested this on another thread) and soaked her and her butt in a bath of warm water. I got her to poop twice by this method so I don't think she has any serious bowel blockage, she is continuing to breath quickly and shallowly compared to the other chick

 

[ChickNanny13]

Don't recall how long the squishy lasted, sort of "out grew" the condition, sorry. I've read too that it could be temperature, although it was winter when I had those chicks. Sounds like you're doing all necessary, hope someone with more knowledge of the "condition" speaks up. Raising chicks can be worrisome but think sometime we worry too much Have you tried posting in the Emergencies, Disease, Injury forum....Maybe more response. Sorry I'm not much help

 

[azygous]

You did the right thing by giving her some olive oil. That should do the trick as long as she has no other issues.

Another easy way to get oil safely into a tiny constipated chick is to use coconut oil in its solid form by breaking off a tiny bit and slipping it into the chick's beak. No danger of aspiration this way.

If this chick has been constipated due to immature organs, it's going to struggle. You can help it with some Poultry Nutri-drench to give it a nutritional boost.

 

[TalullaCat]

You did the right thing by giving her some olive oil. That should do the trick as long as she has no other issues.

Another easy way to get oil safely into a tiny constipated chick is to use coconut oil in its solid form by breaking off a tiny bit and slipping it into the chick's beak. No danger of aspiration this way.

If this chick has been constipated due to immature organs, it's going to struggle. You can help it with some Poultry Nutri-drench to give it a nutritional boost.

I was also considering giving her some molasses, someone on here said it would help with constipation. Do you think that would help?

 

[azygous]

Molasses is for diarrhea.

Be careful you don't throw too much into a baby chick's system at once.

 

[TalullaCat]

Molasses is for diarrhea.

Be careful you don't throw too much into a baby chick's system at once.

Do you mean that molasses is for treating diarrhea or will cause diarrhea?